Audubon golf course in Amherst, NY. My youthful pasture made the decision to eliminate the first hole and replace it with a driving range. Fine, as the course sits on the western boundary of the course. The parallel 9th fairway became the new first, and some land next to the 9th arbitrarily became the new 9th. My sources say that no outside firm was called in to consult and that what came out was a short (260) par 4 with no character. I'll have to see it to believe it, but the dearth of publicity by the town made me suspect another cost-cutting measure by a municipal board.
Westwood country club, also in Amherst, is promoted at times as a Harries, at others as an Alison, design. The club was sold and the new ownership instituted a name change, The Golf Club at The Westwood. The Westwood is not a building nor a development, so the use of the second definite article, or even the preposition, mystify me. I never understand these types of decisions, nor the grammar assassins that promote them. My real issue, however, is with the price structure. Given an opportunity to make it as a semi-private course, with two days open and five closed, the club backed down and went to another pricing model, still completely private. I'm not certain how they'll compete but I hope they do. I don't want to see the area lose a golf course.
Bridgewater CC, in Fort Erie, Ontario. I know that some of the holes are Stanley Thompson ones, but there is no way that all of them can be. The course has a sizable allotment of featureless flatland, none of which was enhanced in the way that the Toronto Terror would have. the holes in the center portion of the property, where the land is broken and bisected by water courses, are memorable and creative. The discrepancy between good holes and forgettable ones disrupts the flow of the round. Too often I found myself holding up the group, sitting on a hole and asking "what could have been done here instead?"